Runaway
by ExaltedOne
Summary: Her parents were murdered, and she had no one left to turn to but the blonde man who rescued her. Years after 'his' betrayal, she begins work on crafting a Keyblade through synthesis, but what she doesn't know is that the Organization has a use for her.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts and am making no profit out of this Fan Fiction._

_**R**__unaway_

_**C**__hapter I_

Sarai stared at the mass of red before her with a look of utter shock and fear. The small, pale hands holding the gun shook wildly beyond her control, and her breathing came out in rasps. With a loud clunk, she dropped the heavy metal revolver, and it landed at her feet, which were clad in light green slippers. She shivered from the cold, as the window in the room was open, letting in small flakes of snow. Her face was flushed, and her emerald eyes were trance like. Only the shadow looming over her was enough to snap the girl out of her thoughts. She whipped her head around, her short brown hair wisping about her blood spattered face.

The man standing behind her was in his early thirties, with thick blonde hair and a gaunt face covered up to the chin with a red scarf. His eyes were that of a concerned, loving brown, full of wisdom and experience.

The little girl turned completely to face the man, but as she stepped back, her foot knocked the revolver slightly, causing her to turn her head to gape warily at it. The man before her, who she knew was Ansem the Wise somewhere in the back of her mind, knelt before her. He held a gloved hand out to her and smiled warmly.

"Are you injured?" He asked kindly.

Sarai shook her head, and peered at the man in front of her.

"Come on, I'll take you somewhere safe." He stated.

She silently looked behind her, to the bodies of those who she knew were her parents. She held out a small hand, and put it in his own. Ansem picked the girl up, as he would have, had she been his daughter and strolled toward the castle.

"What's your name?" He asked gently.

"Sarai Aeon." She replied quietly.

"That's a beautiful name," He said.

Within minutes, she fell asleep on his shoulder.

- -

The morning greeted her with the smell of sweet pancakes, and she rose quickly. Her eye began to water as the bright winters sunlight entered the room in which she slept the night before. However much she wished, Sarai knew that the night before was no nightmare. She clasped her hands in front of her on the silk sheet, and found them a lot more intriguing than the smell coming from what was presumably the kitchen. Moreover, who was the person cooking the delicious food? Was it Ansem the Wise, or someone else? Or, perhaps by some miracle it was her mother cooking.

Intrigued by the last thought, she swung her legs over the high bed and gently propped herself on the floor. She walked toward the sent along soft carpet, and reached a doorway with gold trimmings. Peering in, she saw one somewhat muscular man cooking, and from behind all she could see was long, black, braided hair. She didn't know who he was, so she stayed hidden behind the doorway. She jumped, however, when she heard a voice from behind her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. His hair was bright blonde and his eyes were a vivid green. She peered at him with distrust, but answered anyway.

"Fine, thanks." She replied innocently.

He smiled slightly. "Indeed." He was going to say more, but thought the better of it. After all, the young girl before him could brake any moment.

"Ah," said a familiar deep voice. "There you are, Sarai. I was looking for you." He said with concern. He motioned to the boy near him, who looked around fourteen. "I believe you just met Even, one of my apprentices. Even, this is Sarai."

"Pleased to meet you," He said politely as he headed into the kitchen.

"Hmm, it smells as if Dilan has finished cooking." Ansem stated.

Sarai looked up at him, wanting to know whom this 'Dilan' was. Though, she assumed it was the man with the intimidating set of braids in the kitchen.

"Come, I'll show you." He said as he gave Sarai a slight push into the kitchen. The man with the braids was beginning to put breakfast on the table. The breakfast was simply pancakes and maple syrup.

"Dilan, Elaeus," Ansem began, catching the older boy's attention and motioning to the other boy with wiry brown hair already seated. "This is Sarai, she'll be staying with us for a while."

The boy blinked amethyst eyes before replying "Nice to meet you, Sarai."

Being the timid girl she was, she simply gave a sweet smile and a nod of acknowledgement, as did the boy, Elaeus, who was already seated. She took a seat next to Even and they began to eat their meal.

"Man, I could not sleep last night..." Said another boy who walked into the room. "Hello? Who's this?"

She blinked at the boy's formalities and lack thereof. "Sarai." She stated to the boy.

"Hi!" He said over enthusiastically, with a cheesy grin on his face. "I'm Braig!" He then noticed that everyone had begun eating without him, again. "What? You guys started without me _again?_" Sarai couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe you should use your alarm clock." Dilan suggested.

"No way! I hate the noise that thing makes!"

"That's the point, Braig." Even stated.

"I know _that!_ I just don't wanna wake up with a headache every morning."

"Then don't complain." Elaeus stated, speaking for the first time.

"Awe man! You guys are no fun at all."

"You started it." Dilan replied casually.

"Well, you replied first!"

The argument continued on in that manner, and Sarai looked a little confused. She hadn't been around this many people at once; after all, she was home schooled. These were the closest people to her age, yet after the night before, she knew she wasn't going to trust them completely. Maybe Ansem, but that's probably as far as the list went.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to them arguing all the time." Even stated from beside her, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I'm speaking from experience." He added as an afterthought as their arguing got louder.

She nodded and replied, "Thanks."

Breakfast didn't last long at all, it seemed. Braig and Dilan ceased arguing, or as they liked to call it 'having a heated debate' and sat down to the sweat breakfast.

"Alright, I have to go. I've got a meeting this morning. Even, will you look after Sarai today?" Ansem asked after everyone had finished eating.

"Sure." He replied after bring snapped out of his thoughts.

Ansem stood up and graciously left his apprentices and Sarai in the dinning room to attend said meeting.

"I have a few things I need to do in the computer room. Would you mind accompanying me for a while?" Even asked the shorthaired girl beside him.

"I don't mind." She said quietly as the two left towards the exit.

Sarai had never been down so many halls before, and she had no hope of remembering all the twists and turns she took. But, around five minutes after leaving the kitchen, they arrived at a somewhat metallic door, and Even pushed some keys into the keypad before allowing Sarai to enter.

Inside was a rather large computer screen and keyboard. She gaped at the amazing technology and wanted nothing more than to try it out. But, she thought the better of it. Even sat down in the chair in front of the keyboard and began typing furiously. Codes upon codes came up on the screen, but Even seemed to be having trouble with one of them.

"I'm a man of science, not a computer genius," Even muttered in frustration under his breath.

She knew those codes looked somewhat familiar and when the password screen came up she knew it looked familiar. Her father had worked on this very thing not the night before. She saw Even trying to work out the password and failing miserably. If only she could remember the password he had used...! Well, she might as well take a stab in the dark.

She approached the computer and asked, "Can I have a guess?"

"If you want." Even replied, startled at the quiet girl.

She carefully typed in a few keys and was surprised when the 'Access Granted!' sign came up.

She blinked. "I guess I did remember."

"Excuse me?"

She turned to face Even, a solemn look on her face. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

--

Well, that's it for this chapter, peoples! I'll try and update weekly for those of you who are interested in this story, but I'm gonna warn you right now; don't hold your breath.

On another note, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry to yaoi fans, but I highly doubt there will be any in this story, but the pairing will be Zexion X OC. ... But, I might consider some light AkuRoku...

CIAO!


End file.
